Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Mathilde the Guild
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Janis
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
zkonedog
Sometimes, movies are made where the sole purpose is to provide a vehicle for its stars or producers to bigger and better things. These "vehicle flicks" can, from time to time, be well- made, but most of the time they are shallow and focus on all the wrong things. That is a very apt description of "Any Given Sunday".For a basic plot summary, "Sunday" focuses on the Sharks, a pro football team coach by "Al Pacino". When star quarterback "Dennis Quaid" goes down with an injury, third-stringer "Jamie Foxx" must step in and lead the team to the playoffs, all the while trying to be competitive so that owner "Cameron Diaz" can leverage the city for more money on a stadium deal.Unless you are hopped up on Red Bull or steroids, this movie is pretty much an incoherent mess. It has no discernible plot, completely cardboard-cutout characters, and every single scene is punctuated by loud, driving, rock/rap music that essentially makes this experience feel like a 2.5 hour music video.Instead, this is strictly a vehicle for these purposes: -Getting Diaz in a few more sexy evening gowns -Showcasing Foxx as "leading man" material -Letting director Oliver Stone screw around for 150 minutes and throw theme after theme in our face while developing none of them -LL Cool J showing he can "act" as well as rap.The ONLY bright spot of this experience is the epic speech given by Pacino's character before the film's climax. Surrounded by utter dreck on both sides, that speech will (if only for a few minutes) get you fired up about something.Other than that, though, "Any Given Sunday" is a total mess. The inclusion of James Woods (perhaps the single worst/most annoying actor of his time) almost seems fitting for such a stinker. If you are a pigskin fan who wanted to enjoy this one, I suggest you do so in the middle of a roid rage or other crazy emotional moment. At any normal time, this is 2.5 hours of time utterly wasted.
PhilipVier
Any Given Sunday was a film I had wanted to watch for some time. I knew it had Al Pacino in it who supposedly gives a great speech, and there were other actors in it who are capable of great things. The fact that Oliver Stone directed it led me to believe it would be good film. Unfortunately, while watching this it soon became clear that this was an abysmal film with extremely poor directing.The film starts with a nauseatingly filmed American Football match in which a lot of things happen, but few are explained properly. Now I don't know anything about American Football, but in a good film you can usually follow what's going on. In Any Given Sunday you might as well ask a cat what's happening. Unfortunately, this goes on for the rest of the film. Important characters just come along without a proper introduction and we never learn anything substantial about them. Because of this I quickly lost interest for every character, and nothing they did or said mattered to me.A confusing, bland story is bad enough in itself, but this also means that great actors are wasted. The film stars Al Pacino Jamie Foxx, Dennis Quaid, James Woods and Cameron Diaz. In my opinion every one of these actors are capable of good performances. But throughout the film only Pacino, Foxx and Diaz are able to make something out of it. The rest of the actors add little to the quality of this picture. Dennis Quaid is boring and unconvincing as the only sane football player in the film. We hardly learn anything about him even though he's an important character. James Woods plays a doctor who acts like he's straight out of a parody. And the rest of the football team look and act like rappers and professional wrestlers.Now I don't think the actors are to blame because the directing is absolutely terrible. It's hard to believe this was made by a capable director, never mind an Academy Award winner like Oliver Stone. Most of the film looks more like a rap video or a very poor episode of CSI Miami than an actual film. In some scenes you suddenly get pointless shots of the city or clouds or even Ben-Hur. I also wondered about the casting. The film has its fair share of people with limited acting skills, some of them even play main characters like LL Cool J. I also read Oliver Stone wanted P. Diddy for the character that Jamie Foxx played. This really amazes me, I mean why would a great director like Oliver Stone want to work with talentless artists who can't act to save their lives? When the film was finished I could not believe Oliver Stone directed this. It was more like watching a cheap advert or a music video. The opening sequence of The Last Boy Scout was a better American football film than this. What on earth went wrong? Was Oliver Stone on drugs? Did he do this for a bet? I suppose some of the actors are decent, and the story starts to pick up near the end. But that's it, there's nothing else. I would have never expected something like this from Oliver Stone, and I hope I never have to see something like it again.
bdutchins
Director Oliver Stone's unbelievable, typical heavy handed over directed style is all over this "dead on arrival" movie. I just can't image who would have even thought to come up with an idea to make a sports movie around an aging coach and a young upstart rebel (who eventually comes to realize the major importance of being a team player. Oh wow! Give me a big break! From the over staged, less than exciting football segments (go watch real football – it is much more entertaining) to the habitual, paint by numbers, cliché final game (where everything comes down to several huge plot points) this movie stinks. The ending "will the old quarterback allow the young rebel to have the spotlight" and "will the aging veteran risk his frail health to go out in one huge flameout of football glory?" makes the this movie completely unremarkable. It's not so much that it's so bad, well, actually, it is just that! Are there any positive qualities? Hmmm, think, think, think - nope, can't think of a one.
namashi_1
'Any Given Sunday' is an entertaining sports-drama, that has some very engaging & sharply executed moments, working all the way to it's advantage. Even the performances for that matter, are captivating.'Any Given Sunday' is a behind the scenes look at the life and death struggles of modern day gladiators and those who lead them.Being a sports-drama, 'Any Given Sunday' offers a punch. Prolific Filmmaker Oliver Stone executes each sequence, with razor-sharp vision. However, the Screenplay by Daniel Pyne, John Logan & Stone himself, appeals mainly in the second-hour. The first-hour is slow-paced & slightly uneven. But, the second-hour is arresting & the climax, the football match, is stunning. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are accurate.Performance-Wise: Al Pacino is excellent, yet again. Cameron Diaz is terrific in a role that offers her Grey shades. James Woods is perfect. Jamie Foxx is in full form. Dennis Quaid is very good. LL Cool J is fair. Lawrence Taylor & Aaron Eckhart are effective. On the whole, 'Any Given Sunday' is an entertaining film, that doesn't fail to deliver.
